Having lived through the crappy years of this franchise so many times I vote retool. With James you always have a chance. I look no further than the Toronto Raptors for inspiration. They were the East version of us. They were a really good regular season team but couldn’t get past Lebron. Then they retooled with a major shakeup and everybody gets rings. I’d trade Westbrook in a heartbeat for the best package of youth/talent/picks and I would trade Gordon for whatever pieces he brings back and tweaks like that. I would build a young roster around James that he drags to the 2nd round and once in the playoffs the youth and talent starts to show itself. It always works out that way. Look at the kids Toronto and Miami have. Hardly anyone knew them until they started to make noise in the playoffs. They then become big trade assets and you can move them for bigger fish later. I know this is the Houston sports fan culture talking when everyone says blow it up but this will not end well because of the ownership instability. From the Oilers trading away Moon and letting go of key personnel because they “choked” in the playoffs and only watching them excel in other cities sucked. The years of mediocrity from the late 90’s until the TMac trade and then again until the Harden trade for this franchise was just soul crushingly bad. A lot of the old timers will not be able to live through another one because with this ownership it will be at least a decade. In my opinion you hold onto James for as long as you can and only when he tells you he is not returning do you trade him.
Scarface and Sweet Lou’s posts, even though they disagree, are definitely the right convo to have. Do we blow it up because the team won’t work without a game-changing trade, or do we stay the course and try for that trade because we won’t rebuild successfully absent a miracle?
First choice is to run it back with both Harden and Russ but Rockets need to add Ibaka or Wood. Cannot run it back as is. Second choice is to run it back without Russ. Take advantage of thirsty teams like Hornets or Knicks who are willing to give up top 10 pick/young talent for a bonafide superstar still putting up 27-7-7. CHA: Russ, House ORL: Eric Gordon, Devonte Graham, Jalen McDaniels + 3rd pick overall (Hornets) + future FRP (Rockets) PHI: Buddy Hield, Terry Rozier + 15th pick overall (Magic) SAC: Jason Richardson, Cody Zeller + FRP (76ers) HOU: Ben Simmons, Aaron Gordon, Matisse Thybulle, Mo Bamba + SRP (Kings) Harden/McLemore Thybulle/Nwaba RoCo/PJ AG/Bruno (vet min) Simmons/Bamba Save 2M plus still have MLE. 3 ball handlers in starting 5, Harden double teams will be thing of the past finally. Lockdown switch defense creating offense out of defense. Built to defend/attack Lakers.
I'd give it a go with Morey but only with Morey. Without him, it's a free fall, whatever. May the Lord bless them. You can bet there are lots of Yes men around Fertitta, the same as around Trump. There should be democratic discussions about it.
Don't forget Morey got the team in this mess and left the team with the mess. I like Morey and I think he is a talented GM, but i wish he would have stood up to Tillman/Harden on the Westbrook trade if that is indeed what happen. Now with that water under the bridge and on the the current regimes headaches. I think this HARDEN/WESTBROOK thing can be salvaged with veterans bigs. The rumor that Ibaka in going to Clippers via S&T for Montrez puts us back at Cousins in my opinion. I think it will become clearer to Cousins once the Lakers resign Dwight and Mcgee. The Schroder for Danny Green deal might put CP3 into a Knicks uniform and I think Rondo goes to the Clippers as well. That leaves Westbrook with no good options for a bigger stage, a opportunity at winning, or your own above .500 team. IMO Pair Cousins with Giles, or Nerlens and we have a chance at being at least as good as last year on paper.
Blow it up, but rebuild quickly with Ben Simmons, Danuel House and Robert Covington. Use the $70 million from Russ/Gordon/Tucker and find some elite shooting.
Report: Rockets believe they 'have to trade' Russell Westbrook Brian T. Smith told veteran NBA writer Chris Sheridan in a podcast: I know for a fact that the Rockets believe that they have to trade Russell Westbrook. The issue is going to be… Are they able to? Is there a way to calm the situation down? Do they try to trade him, and they have to end up backing off? Because ultimately, they figure out that they’re keeping him in the fold for one more season. … Honestly, I won’t be surprised if he gets traded in the next 48 hours. And I won’t be surprised if they go through the draft and free agency, and they try to make it work once training camp starts, and they get everybody in the same building. It’s a very, very odd situation. https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...believe-they-have-to-trade-russell-westbrook/ No they dont! This is very uninspiring if true.
I voted to run it back. If we can keep Harden (happy) and move on from Westbrook I'd prefer that. Getting a Harden level talent is extremely rare, I believe he can be the best player on a champion team, so while we have him we have to keep pushing buttons till we get one that gives us a championship opportunity.
Blow it up and rebuild. Being mediocre for the next decade seems horrible. Try to build a young team while the current players have value
Report: Rockets would require 'monstrous return' to trade James Harden https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/20...quire-monstrous-return-to-trade-james-harden/
DM and MDA leaves. Scent of blood. The sharks are everywhere. This is like a private equity firm trying a hostile takeover and strip you for parts.
I was hoping for retool around Harden with Russ gone, but Harden is already leaking his preferred destination which is the beginning of the end, and importantly that destination doesn’t have jack **** to offer, meaning every day Harden gets closer to expiring the lower his value is, which will be amplified by Harden threatening to walk in FA everywhere that isn’t Brooklyn. Smartest move is to trade Harden now for best offer, keep Westbrook and hope he rebounds his value next year with James gone.
Westbrook doesn’t like Tillman that’s why he wants out and not the hogwash of not liking the offense which he actually thrived he from December to March. Even if Harden gets traded Westbrook will want out. Both Harden and Russell don’t like Tillman
That’s good, it should motivate Russ to play extra hard next season so he can pump up his trade value and get his ass shipped out of here by the deadline (which will be soon in this condensed season).
James knows that this is his team, if he wants it. James is Htown. And, even if there are disgruntled players, it doesn't mean that things cannot work out for all parties. Russ is, indeed, unhappy but James is also trying to bring it back together. You're more likely to ring your brother in rather than a "co-star." I'm more concerned with PJ, to be honest. Due diligence on Russ' side. Same with James. Same with team (allegedly) I'm hearing more of calmer vibe to all of this. But, this is different ownership so it's difficult to anticipate sudden moves. And that's the problem. Those sudden decisions bother everyone on the team. Lots of chatter. You know, the regular, expected stuff which would be expected with 2 MVPs. The dominoes fell quickly for the fans, so try to imagine what it felt like for the core.
It sounds to me like hiring Silias was a very "sudden" move....lol. I did think it was weird that they announced this signing AFTER Morey was reported going to Philly.